Sun Airway

The first time Sun Airway's crackling pop sounds made their way through our speakers, we heard what felt like the lost soundtrack to the next Sofia Coppola film; atmospheric yet catchy, hazy but somehow vital and immediate. Sun Airway has hit on the sweet spot where infectious hooks and cerebral electronic pop intersect, pulling textural sound and pop songcraft into one. It is hard to imagine namedropping both the Strokes and Animal Collective when describing a single band, but that is exactly what Pitchfork has done with Sun Airway, while describing "Put the Days Away" and "Infinity," two tracks from the band's debut album, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier. There is no shortage of magical moments on Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, from Side A's one-two punch of "American West" and "Oh, Naoko" to the heartfelt "Waiting on You" and the anthemic "Put the Days Away." Sun Airway twists their songs with their kaleidoscopic production – lush electronic washes, synthetic textures and pulsing rhythms – obscuring the hooks in hazy pop bliss. Hailing from Philadelphia, Sun Airway is led by songwriter Jon Barthmus, who is joined by fellow sound sculptor Patrick Marsceill. Recorded primarily in Barthmus' basement studio over the course of 18 months, the album blends processed sounds, field recordings and timeless vocal melodies into their abstract fractured pop. The duo expands to a full blown quintet when performing live, with projections designed for each song, creating a wondrous sensory overload. In addition to an ambitious live show, Sun Airway have been reinventing the music of others, with remixes of Delorean, Kisses, Here We Go Magic and more circulating around the internet.

Jon recently gave an interview at DIY, indulging the reader with a bit of backstory to each track on the new record. “Black Noise” is in fact a “love song to the silence of a radio tuned to dead air.” When writing “Black Noise” Jon comments it was “unintentionally sounding like the most ‘pop’ thing he’s ever done” and so he went with it. To find out more about the album, head HERE.

“The songs are expansive, often shrouded in mysterious instrumentation, abstract off-turns, all without teetering into the realms of artistic snobbery.” – Jamie Milton, DIY

Sun Airway is currently on tour with M83! They play Miami Beach tonight and make their way back up the East Coast over the next week. Jon and the gang will then pair up with Pure Bathing Culture for West Coast dates. You’ll find the full schedule and ticket links HERE.

Directed by Ewan MacLeod, the new Sun Airway video for “Close” was shot in the furthest southern wilds of Australia. It’s a stunningly beautiful piece set on the beach and features actors Anthony Guilbert and Chloe Boreham. Constructed around the idea of a soft fall, MacLeod writes “it’s kind of a hallucinogenic love story or perhaps it’s the story of what happens after two lovers drown.” Watch the video above or at Pitchfork!

Out on October 2, Soft Fall is now available for pre-order at both SC Distribution and iTunes. The physical pre-order boasts of the most gorgeous colored vinyl we’ve yet to see; it’s translucent purple with a fittingly detailed label. Order fast – the limited-edition run is available for the first 300 copies.

In addition to the video, Jon Barthmus shares a new Spotify playlist he recently curated. Titled I Can Feel It But I Can’t See It, the mix features a wide variety of artists from ELO to Patsy Cline to Daft Punk. Stream the list below.

“The two things that most often make me come back to certain songs again and again are either timeless melodies and orchestration or unique and innovative production. Most of the songs in this list hit both of those categories for me. This mix is pretty polarized into new/old by that dynamic, causing oddities like John Talabot butting right up next to Patsy Cline, but maybe that’s not as far a stretch as it seems.”Jon Barthmus

Perhaps you heard Sun Airway’s new single “Close” when we shared it a couple of weeks ago. You didn’t? Listen HERE. It’s the first track off their forthcoming album, Soft Fall, out October 2. Today we get the first listen to Beat Connection’s new reworking of “Close.” Listen below and download at RCRD LBL.

Sun Airway is gearing up for a handful of dates with M83, who they recently remixed. Listen to “Reunion” and see all tour dates below. In addition to their M83 dates, the band will perform at the opening night of The Babycastles Summit at the Museum of Arts and Design. It all happens on August 24 and Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Little Ruckus and Happy New Year will also perform.

For our last bit of Sun Airway fun —> It’s a new Sun Airway mixtape, I Need You Close! Created by Jon Barthmus, the mixtape is a 24-minute track that blends snippets of artists ranging from David Bowie to Mozart to Dead Ocean’s own Bill Fay. Check out the mixtape below!Read the rest of this entry »

Sun Airway announce their second album, Soft Fall, set for release October 2. The sonically inspiring sub-strata of Soft Fall began in songwriter/producer Jon Barthmusâ€™ house in Philadelphia. Classical foundations were chopped, dissected, and sewn back together by a string quartet in one recording studio, with live instruments overdubbed in another, then re-edited and assembled back at home by Barthmus. David Wrench (Caribou, Bat for Lashes, Bear in Heaven) took it all to new heights with some masterful mixing. You can listen to “Close,” the first single from the album, below!